


The Halloween Blues

by DeMarcos



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Caitlin/Jay, Established Relationship, Halloween, Humor, M/M, One Shot, Season One Fix-It, Tumblr: thallenweek, gratuitous Archer references, implied Barry/Eddie/Iris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-24 16:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4926094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeMarcos/pseuds/DeMarcos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neither Barry or Eddie really like Halloween, but Iris ropes them into going to a Halloween party at the newly reopened Jitters. Luckily for them, before they become buzz killing party poopers, Cisco and Iris are there to whip them -and Caitlin- into shape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Halloween Blues

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a quick little Halloween romp for Thallen Week, filled with fluff and laughs and references, but... it turned into a huge beast of a character piece, with a ton of emotions that needed to be expressed, and kinda went off the rails. But like hell I was gonna scrap over 11,000 words and start again. So, uh... enjoy my insane ramblings and Happy Halloween!

"You _can't_ go as a cop."

Eddie arched an eyebrow in confusion and glanced at Barry's reflection in the mirror. Barry was sitting on the edge of the tub, clad in nothing but his boxer briefs, the little bathroom trashcan sitting in front of him as he clipped his toenails, the soft _click click_ occasionally peppered with the sound of metal on plastic as he tapped the clippers against the can.

Removing the toothbrush from his mouth, Eddie bent over the sink to spit out the toothpaste. "And why not?" He asked, turning on the faucet to wash away the toothpaste before cupping his hands under the water.

"Because you're _already_ a cop. That'd be cheating."

Spitting out the mouthful of water he was using to rinse with, Eddie turned the faucet off and straightened up. "I'm not a cop, I'm a _detective_."

Barry scoffed, rubbing a hand over his toes to check that they were even before he finished up. "Not all cops are detectives, but _all_ detectives are cops." Kicking the can back to its place next to the toilet, Barry peered up at him. "Besides, it's not even remotely creative."

"If Iris wanted creative, she should have given us more warning. I still have my old Keystone uniform in the closet, which means I don't have to go out and spend money on some cheap polyester getup. She'll just have to deal with it if she doesn't like it."

"Yeah, _you_ tell her that." Barry had thought that once Iris had quit Jitters to work at the Picture News, he'd stopped getting dragged to their Halloween parties. As a rule, they were usually lame, as there was no alcohol -not that it was an issue with him anymore, seeing as he couldn't get drunk- the games were childish, the music was sub-par and the winners of the costume contest was always the busty college girls wore the most revealing sexy nurse/maid/cop costumes. Then someone would manage to sneak in booze and begin spiking the hot cider and pumpkin spice monstrosities they served throughout the evening, and the party would _really_ begin. Right up until the owner thought things were getting too rowdy and kicked everyone out.

When Iris had been working there, Barry went just so she'd have someone there with her while she ran around trying to maintain the chaos, but once she'd left, he had -apparently mistakenly- thought he was a free man. He and Eddie had planned on giving the whole holiday a pass, crossing their fingers that the criminals would be doing the same, freeing them up to spend the whole night in bed, doing a whole lot of _not_ sleeping.

But then Iris had called the night before, saying she was going to the party to hang out with her friends that still worked there, and wanted them to tag along. They'd initially flat out refused, but Iris had resorted to emotional blackmail to get them to go. It seemed she had been banking every canceled get-together and endured crisis due to Flash duties for one _glorious_ day, and Halloween was apparently their reckoning.

Wiping at his damp face with a hand towel, Eddie nodded his head toward Barry. "Well, if _I_ can't go as a cop, _you_ can't go as the Flash."

"Aw, c'mon!" Barry cried, a wounded expression on his face. "When am I ever going to have a opportunity like this again to reveal myself without _actually_ revealing myself?"

" _No_ Flash. And not just because it would give Joe a heart attack." Eddie sighed and hung the towel back up on the rack affixed to the wall beside the sink. "We'll just have to come up with something else."

"We can hit the costume store after work, see if they have anything left that's not too awful." If push came to shove, he could probably just get a lab coat from work and go as some generic scientist, but that would still leave Eddie hanging. Seeing that Eddie was done, Barry stood up from the tub and closed the short distance between them. They kissed slowly, tongues catching for the briefest of moments, Barry tasting the strong mint of the toothpaste.

"Good morning." He said, breaking away with a smile. He'd been waiting since they'd woken up to do that and placed another quick peck on his lips.

"Morning." Eddie replied, settling a hand on Barry's hip. It was gentle at first, but then he tightened his grip. "You may have owed Iris, but you know how much I hate Halloween, so after tonight, you're gonna owe _me_." He leaned in, resting their foreheads together and Barry saw a familiar, teasing glint appear in his eyes. "And how the evening turns out will determine how _rough_ you get it."

Barry's smile grew wider. Knowing how awful the party was going to be, he thought that maybe it would work out in his favor after all. "Promise?"

 

\-- (^:^) --

 

"Yes, okay, I got it! Under _no_ circumstances will I attempt to scare you with anything made of rubber, up to and including, snakes, worms, spiders, cockroaches, or bats." Cisco stuffed the large rubber bat into his back pocket but Caitlin gave him a look that said he wasn't fooling anyone. "Nor will I jump out from around any corners screaming _boo_." He scrunched up his face, trying to remember everything she'd told him not to do. "And I won't do any Dracula or zombie impressions."

Caitlin nodded her head primly. "Good. Thank you." Taking off her coat, she set it over the back of her chair and sat down in front of the console. Having never seen the appeal in Halloween -screaming kids jacked up on sugar, purposefully scaring your friends, unnecessarily gory movies- she always made sure that wherever she'd gone to school or had worked after graduation, everyone knew not to include her in their shenanigans. And with their staff now mainly of just herself, Cisco, Stein, and Barry, it had been fairly easy to remind them not to mess with her.

"You're welcome." He sighed morosely, unable to believe that he was _actually_ missing Wells. Say what you will about the murderous mad man, he knew how to cut loose on Halloween. He always seemed delighted by how people dressed up and deliberately sought to scare themselves silly. Of course, now that they knew he'd been from the future, Cisco supposed that the delight had mostly likely been akin to going back to ancient Egypt and studying the ritual traditions that preceded a human sacrifice.

Except nowadays, the virgin was always the one who survived the sacrifice, while her horny friends were the ones that got macheted to death. He snorted loudly, earning a suspicious look from Caitlin. "Don't worry, I'm not planning anything... just probably changing up my movie marathon tonight." Leatherface had been on deck for the evening's entertainment, as Michael Myers was a little _too_ on the nose, but the thought of machetes had him thinking Jason Voorhees might be better.

"All I'm saying is that if we're going together, what's wrong with doing a couple's costume?"

"There'd be nothing wrong with it, if we'd had more _time_ to plan something out. With our luck, all that's left at the store are Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes."

" _Not it_ on the Ann costume!"

Barry and Eddie rounded the corner into the cortex to find Caitlin and Cisco staring openly at them. Barry waved and let out a weak chuckle. "Hey, guys... what's up?"

"Nothing as interesting as Eddie here wearing a Raggedy Ann costume." Cisco said, barely suppressing a grin.

Eddie groaned and rubbed at his forehead in frustration. "I am _not_ wearing a Raggedy Ann costume!"

"Hey, I called _not it_... so yes, you are."

"I was being _facetious_ , Barry. To illustrate the fact that there's no point in trying to plan for a couple's costume."

"I know. But just in case... _not it_."

Furrowing her brow, Caitlin's eyes followed Eddie as he sat down at the console, grumbling to himself. "I thought you two were staying in tonight. What happened?"

" _Iris_ happened." Barry said, walking around the console. Once on the other side, he braced his hands on the edge and leaned against it, peering down at the three of them. "She blackmailed us into going with her to the Halloween party at Jitters. And now we have to come up with costumes last minute."

Cisco perked up at the mention of a party. "Ooh, can I come, too? I have a costume."

Caitlin rounded on him. "Wait, I thought you were marathoning scary movies tonight."

"Yeah... until I found out there was a party that my _friends_ are going to." Pretty much every bar and club in Central City advertised Halloween parties, but it was never any fun going by himself. The people he used to go out with, his coworkers from S.T.A.R. Labs, had all gotten other jobs, or had left the city entirely after the accelerator exploded, and even before that, the Halloween preceding the accelerator going online had been passed over, in favor of burning the midnight oil, to make sure everything when off without a hitch. A fat lot of good that had done them, Cisco thought bitterly, seeing as Wells had purposefully rigged the accelerator to blow. And the Halloween after that, Barry had awoken from his coma only several weeks earlier, and they'd all been too busy dealing with metas to celebrate.

Even though it seemed that this Halloween would be relatively calm, Cisco had been left to party with Caitlin, Barry, and Eddie, none of whom were big fans of Halloween. Professor Stein had no interest, beyond passing out candy with his wife, and on Jay's earth, they didn't celebrate Halloween like they did. Having nothing to do and no one to do it with, he'd been planning to stick with the routine of sitting around, eating bags of mini candy bars and watching cheesy 80s bloodbaths.

"The more the merrier, I suppose. I gotta warn you, though, the parties at Jitters are pretty lame. There's no alcohol, at least not legally, but people come anyway, because it's one of the only places that doesn't charge to get in."

"Will there be girls there?"

"Uh, yeah. Mostly the younger crowd, though, since they can't get into the bars. But like I said, alcohol _still_ manages to find its way in."

"So... make sure they're over eighteen first, check. Music?"

"DJ. But never a good one."

"Still, girls and dancing. Food?"

"We'll be going with Iris, so she can gets us drinks and pastries half off. But they usually put out chips and candy and pretzels for people to snack on."

"Count me _in_ , dude. I can set up my phone to alert me if the system detects anything meta-y, that way we can all go out and have a good time." Cisco rubbed his hands together gleefully and glanced over at Caitlin. "You sure you don't want to loosen up for a night and come with us?" His voice took on a sweetly goading note. "I'm sure Jay would enjoy eating soggy pretzels to crappy music along with the rest of us."

"Sadly, you'll just have to eat enough pretzels for the both of us." She straightened up in her chair, her cheeks flushing a riotous shade of pink when they all smiled at her knowingly. "It's _not_ what you think. Since neither of us celebrate Halloween, and because I'm the only person he knows without plans, we made plans of our own, to go check out the new exhibit at the Aquarium, and maybe grab something to eat afterward."

"Aw, that's so adorable." Cisco said, before sticking a finger in his mouth and making a choking noise to mime gagging. Caitlin swatted at him and Cisco quickly pushed his chair back to roll out of her reach. She shot him a dirty look and he smiled back at her innocently. Eddie smothered his own grin behind a hand as he watched the two of them, and glanced up at Barry, who just rolled his eyes at their antics.

"That's all well and good, guys," Barry said, getting their attention, "but we still need to figure out what Eddie and I are gonna do about costumes. That, y'know, aren't cheap. Or stupid."

Seeing Cisco start to say something, Eddie held up a finger to stop him. "That _isn't_ me going as a cop, or him going as the Flash."

Caitlin snorted indelicately. "Hooray for _that_. The last thing we need is Barry outing his identity to the city just because he wants to win a costume contest."

Eddie grinned at Barry smugly. "Told you."

"Yeah, yeah..." Barry bent down, propping his elbow on the console to cradle his chin in his hand. "So what do we do?"

Glancing between Eddie and Barry, Cisco bit his lip, trying to think up a good idea, something they could go as that already played to their features. He narrowed his eyes at them, lips screwing up in contemplation. With a little makeup and some old clothes, they could go as zombies, but everyone and their brother would be doing zombies. If they both had suits and some sunglasses, they could go as FBI or CIA agents, but that ran along the line of cop and Eddie had already nixed that.

He then blinked, a light bulb switching on in his head. He turned in his chair to face Barry. "Do you have a nice suit and some styling cream?"

"Yes..." Barry answered slowly, extending the vowel in wary confusion. "Why?"

Ignoring him, Cisco looked to Eddie. "Would you let Barry borrow your shoulder holster? You can leave the gun at home, he just needs the holster."

"It would need to be adjusted to fit him, but I don't see that being a problem."

"Excellent. Now... do you shop at Foot Locker or Finish Line?"

Eddie cocked his head to the side, not seeing how that was relevant. "Uh, Finish Line."

"Figures." Cisco had been hoping Eddie went to Foot Locker, as it would mean making a trip to the mall, but Finish Line had their own store several blocks away. But there was a place just down the street from the store that sold the most amazing horchatas and picking one up afterward would be a small consolation. "Okay, you and I need to go on a shopping trip."

"We do? Why?"

"Hey, it's either my idea or... Raggedy Ann."

Eddie let out a resigned sigh and traded glances with Barry. Whatever Cisco had up his sleeve, it was better than the alternative. "Okay..."

"Besides, a big guy like you who works out a lot, you'll get some other use for what we need, so don't think of it as a frivolous expense." Cisco stood up and grabbed his hoodie from the back of the chair. "If anything meta happens, just call." He motioned for Eddie to follow him, but just as they were about to exit the cortex, he stopped and twisted around. "Do you know if Iris has a costume already?"

Barry shrugged and nodded his head. "This was all her idea in the first place, so yeah, probably."

"Damn. She would have been perfect for rounding out the ensemble... ah, well, next year, maybe." He clapped Eddie's arm. "C'mon, chop chop. We're burning daylight."

"This better be good." Eddie said, following behind Cisco to the elevator.

"Trust me, dude, people are gonna _love_ it."

 

\-- (^:^) --

 

"I don't get it." Barry said, grabbing the prop glass tumbler from the car before shutting the door. "How is this a couple's costume if you're supposed to be my arch-nemesis?"

Eddie slid his car keys into one of the zippered pockets of his jogging suit and shrugged, waiting for Barry to join him on the other side of the car. "Cisco explained the premise to me, but all I got from it was that it's great _because_ they're arch-nemeses."

"Well..." Barry started, sidling up beside Eddie and looping an arm around his back, "if it helps, I always thought red was _my_ color, but you look damn good in it yourself." Arm in arm, they started walking toward the front entrance. "I'd let you try to get revenge on me any day of the week."

Snorting out a laugh, Eddie looked at Barry with a befuddled expression of amusement. "That's kinda weird. But in the spirit of the character, my revenge will be swift and merciless." He tugged Barry to him and pressed his lips to his ear, voice dropping to a whisper. "Followed by slow and agonizing... _ly amazing_."

Barry shivered at the teasing words, but nudged Eddie away as they approached the doors, the dim sound of thumping music bleeding into the air. A crowd of people were hanging around outside, smoking and drinking surreptitiously from flasks or mini bottles of booze. Some had made the effort to dress up, masks and full makeup, whereas others had made the bare minimum of effort. One guy was even wearing a shirt that said 'Cheap-Ass Halloween Costume'.

"If I had known _that_ was an option," Eddie murmured, pointing to the shirt, "we could have avoided all of this."

"True. But then Iris would have skinned us alive for phoning it in."

"It's not like she would have anyone to blame but herself." Reaching the doors, Eddie reached for the handling and opened it, ushering Barry in with a wave of his hand. "Next time she'll know to give us a little more warning when she tries..." He tried to think of way to properly describe what she'd done. "Cashing in a chip."

"Hopefully, there won't _be_ a next time." Barry raised his voice to be heard over the music as he walked inside. "But we're here now and complaining won't make it any better, so we should just try to slog through until we can make our escape."

"Fine. But an hour and a half, _tops_ , and then we go home."

"Agreed." Looping his arm through Eddie's, Barry gave him a smile. "Let's go see if Iris or Cisco are here yet." If they were going to miserable all night, they might as well have some company.

An hour and twenty minutes later, the two of them sat at their table, anxiously counting down the last ten minutes before they could make their excuses and leave.

It hadn't been a completely awful night, but the DJ had been spinning the most annoying dance music, boy bands remixed with dubstep beats, and the only reason Barry didn't have a headache from it was that he no longer got headaches. They'd gotten plenty of comments on their costumes, not that any of the jokes made any sense to them. So many people had stopped by the table they had all taken up residence at saying _danger zone_ and _phrasing_ , that by the dozenth time it happened, they just smiled tightly and nodded their heads, as if they got it.

"Woo! You guys are missing out!" Cisco said, returning their table sweating and out of breath. Iris sat down beside him, looking as if she too had just run a marathon. Strands of her white wig were sticking to her face and she brushed them away, before picking up her mug of cider to take a deep drink.

"I can't believe you two are just sitting here playing on your phones." She said, licking away the cider on her lips.

" _I_ can't believe you came as the _Black Canary_." Barry said, shaking his head. Iris hadn't been subjected to their rules about cheating costumes, but it still seemed like cheating, coming as someone they knew. Well, knew _of_. Only Cisco knew the identity of the Black Canary and he kept it a closely guarded secret, though no one could tell if it was out of respect or fear.

"Hey," Iris said, setting her mug down, "I wanted to be the hero for once, and no one is more badass as the Canary. No offense."

"Ha-ha." He said mockingly, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He had to admit, though, she _did_ look pretty good in her black corset and mini jacket, a cheap plastic Kato mask on her face, wearing the skin-tight leather pants she normally only broke out for when she went clubbing. Upon first seeing her, he, Eddie, and Cisco had stared at her with varying levels of inappropriateness. Then, his protective side had reared its ugly head, and he'd grumbled at them for committing the ultimate act of betrayal.

Eddie had scoffed at Barry, knowing he'd been just as guilty of eyeballing her as the rest of them, and had no room whatsoever to get snippy with them. Cisco, with his massive crush on the Black Canary, had ignored him altogether, in favor of quickly ingratiating himself to Iris. He danced with her when a song came on that she liked, helped her get drinks and snacks from the behind the counter, and kept her entertained with stories from his so-called wild days at college.

"And if I'd have known Cisco had set you up as Archer and Barry, I'd have come as Lana instead."

"See, I thought the _same_ thing," Cisco said, "but they said you'd already had a costume. Besides, Archer and Lana are totally in love with each other, and that would have been kinda awkward."

"True... but still, it would have been fun. Caitlin could have been Cheryl, and if we'd gotten you a fake beard, you could have been Krieger. Not that you aren't an _excellent_ Bill Nye." She reached out and smoothed down the collar of Cisco's blue lab coat. He preened under the attention, grinning widely.

"Just a little something I like to call _science_." Cisco said, straightening his bow tie. When Eddie and Barry didn't laugh, he leered across the table at them. "C'mon, guys! Just because you were blackmailed into coming doesn't mean you can't at least _try_ to have a good time."

"Seriously. You're the one who fixed this place up, _and_ half the city, after the wormhole nearly destroyed it. It's the reason why I asked you to come, even though I _know_ you don't like Halloween, or the parties Jitters throws." Iris placed her hand over Barry's. "I wanted you to enjoy the fruits of your labor."

"I _already_ enjoy it, every day since it reopened, when we all come here and hang out. I tried to tell you that on the phone, but you strong-armed us into coming anyway."

"I did that because I thought we'd all have a good time, and that you just needed a little push. You've been so..." Iris scowled, to illustrate how Barry had been acting, since she didn't know exactly how to put it into words, "since Wells died and your dad left town, and tonight was the perfect opportunity to put that behind you and _relax_. But if I'd known you both were going to be sourpusses about it, I wouldn't even have _bothered_."

"This sounds like a _fun_ conversation."

They all whipped their heads around to see Caitlin and Jay. Caitlin had a supremely uncomfortable expression on her face, while Jay peered around the crowded Jitters, like a tourist seeing a new culture for the very first time.

"Hey," Barry said with a watery smile, "what are you two doing here?"

"We finished our tour at the Aquarium, and Jay was intrigued by all the kids there in costume. He wanted to see what else was going on and I knew you guys would be here. I thought _one_ little party couldn't be all that bad, so I decided to just bite the bullet. And you _did_ say the more the merrier, right?"

Cisco stood up and offered Caitlin his chair. "Yes, he _did_ say that." He said, leveling an arch look at Barry. "Now if he could just get busy with the _merry_ part."

"So, Jay," Barry said, trying to get the attention off himself, "what do you think of Halloween so far?"

"It's an interest concept, I must admit. Children concealing their identities and ransoming candy from adults, in exchange for a promise to not play any tricks on them." On his Earth, Halloween was an archaic religious holiday, and was only observed by those who wanted to honor the memory of deceased relatives and loved ones. How it had evolved on this Earth into a children's festivity was truly a fascinating curiosity.

Caitlin and Eddie snorted in unison, while Cisco openly laughed. "Dude, that is the _best_ description of Halloween I've _ever_ heard."

"I just don't understand why the reverse seems to be true for adults who indulge in it, and why they shed as much clothing as they can. You _do_ realize that half the people here are barely dressed?" Though he'd been on their Earth for over six months now, it still sometimes shocked him how little propriety the people here had.

"Oh, yes, we realize." Cisco said distractedly, watching a girl pass their table in nothing but white bandages and a day-glo orange wig. "And it's a beautiful thing." Once she was gone, he gave himself a shake. "But that's the whole point. Kids dress up to have fun and adults do it because of that age old adage, _if you got it, flaunt it_. Hence all scantily clad ladies." A muscled guy walked by their table, in a fuzzy loincloth and boots, carrying a fake wooden club. "And the occasional scantily clad man."

Jay nodded his head and looked to Caitlin, an eyebrow raised questioningly. "Is that why you don't like this holiday? You don't think you have... _it_?"

Barry nearly spit out his cider, his laughter making him choke, and Eddie thumped him on the back as he fought to get air into his lungs. Iris ducked her head so Caitlin wouldn't see her losing it, but Cisco made no attempt whatsoever to hide or smother his laughter. A huge grin spread across his face, eyes crinkling up as he bounced giddily, waiting to hear her response to _that_.

Caitlin glared at all of them, lips tightening into a thin line. She knew they all thought she was too prim and uptight, and she accepted that she wasn't able to unwind as easily as the rest of them, but she most certainly _had it,_ thank you very much. She peered up at Jay. "Uh, _no_. That's definitely _not_ the issue."

"Believe me, I've seen it for myself." Barry chuckled. "She can break _it_ out when she wants to." He thought back to that little black dress of hers, tasteful, yet slinky enough that she'd caught the attention of every guy -and a few women- in that dive bar they'd been scoping out several months back. And while he hadn't peeked while getting her out of the thing, thinking that Eddie would never let him live it down, he had to admit, the temptation had certainly been there.

Jay gave him a piercing look and Barry's smile melted away. "Not that you don't have it, even when you're not breaking it out. Because you're _always_ beautiful..." The look he was receiving intensified and Barry cleared his throat. "Shutting up now." Eddie snorted at him for firmly planting his foot in his mouth and Barry elbowed him for it.

"Thank you," Caitlin said graciously, "but it's not about not wanting to put myself out there like that... well, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it even if I _did_ like Halloween, but it just..."

"She's _scared_ of Halloween." Cisco blurted out. "All the ghouls and goblins turn her into a nervous wreck."

Cisco was lucky he still had a head, after the murderously heated glare Caitlin shot him. " _Yes_. Even as a grown, educated woman, I'm still terrified by ghosts and zombies and masked murderers. And you all would be, too, if you'd had a cousin who'd scarred you for life by jumping out at you in the dark with one of those Jason masks on."

Iris held up a hand. "Pause. Are Cisco and I the _only_ ones here who don't hate Halloween because we weren't traumatized by it growing up?"

Barry, Eddie, and Caitlin traded guilty glances with one another. Cisco shook his head, tutting at them. "Poor, _sad_ people." He reached across the table and put his hand over Eddie's. "Who hurt you?" He asked, a serious look in his eyes. Halloween was his favorite holiday, next to Star Wars Day, and he wanted to be able to share his joy with his closest friends.

Blinking, Eddie edged back in his seat. "Uh..."

"It's okay." Cisco said. "This is a _safe_ place." He motioned around to the party going on around them, where everyone else was having a good time, ignorant to the conversation they were having. "We can get through this _together_."

"Amen." Iris said, slapping her hand against the table. "This is the year you all climb down off your crosses, use the wood to build a bridge, and get _over_ it. We're all friends, old and new," she pointed to Jay, "and what are friends for, if not helping each other out? So spill, it's therapy time."

Eddie huffed out a laugh. "You're serious?"

"Don't worry, we promise to provide tissues and hug it out with you after." Iris said solemnly.

" _Okay_... uh, well, you know, growing up, I had a weight problem. And one year, my dad was in the process of losing his mind trying to get reelected." He sighed and Barry, having heard the story before, slung a supportive arm around his back. Eddie flashed him a tiny, grateful smile. "Halloween was the week before voting. I got back from trick-or-treating with my mom and I was going through my haul when my dad came in and just _laid_ into me. _You're too damn old to be wasting your time with this childish bullshit. No one wants to vote for the candidate pushing for cutbacks when he can't even cut back on his son's fat ass_. After that, trick-or-treating lost its shine, and I've not been big into Halloween since." His mom had all but castrated his dad for screaming at him, but the damage had already been done.

"Dude... that's _harsh_." Cisco patted Eddie's hand, having not expected anything _close_ to such a horrible story. Everyone looked at Eddie with expressions ranging from sympathy for the awful incident and anger that his own father had said such a thing to him. "But look at you _now_." Cisco said, perking up. "You're a total male specimen, and your dad doesn't even factor into your life anymore, so who cares what he thinks about you?"

"Exactly. With hard work and determination, you've proven who the better man is. You have a great life, a gorgeous boyfriend," Iris playfully pinched one of Barry's cheeks between her fingers, "friends who care about you, and you don't need that douche to validate who you are as a person."

"Because now I have _you_ to validate me?" Eddie said to her with a grin.

"Damn right. You have us _all_."

"You're an invaluable part of the team, dude, and teams stick together." Cisco chimed in, smiling softly at Caitlin to let her know he didn't begrudge her for needing time after Ronnie's death. "And support each other when they need it most."

"And no matter who you are or what you look like, you're _amazing_ , and you can't let your stupid father hold you back, not after all these years. So, what are you going to do?" Iris asked.

He arched a brow hesitatingly, not one hundred percent on how her metaphor worked. "Uhm, I'm gonna get over it?" 

"Yes, you are. Because we love you and we don't want to see you unhappy, so we're gonna help you dance your ass over that bridge." Iris began dancing in her seat, wiggling around to the beat of the song that was currently playing.

Placing his free hand over his heart, Eddie puckered his lips, blowing her a kiss. "How much do I owe you for the session, _Doctor_ West?"

"For _you_ , it's on the house." She stopped dancing and slid her gaze over to Barry. "For you, I'm taking you to the cleaners, because I've been trying to therapy your ass for this since elementary school."

At everyone's confused looks, Barry shook his head. He dropped his arm from around Eddie and placed his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together. "It was right after my dad had been sent to prison for my mom's murder, and all the kids in the neighborhood thought it would be a good idea to get together on Halloween and egg me. Trick-or-treating fell on a school day, and I'd stayed late for science club, so I had to walk home alone, instead of walking with Iris. They found me and started hurling eggs at me."

"Ugh, you should have _seen_ him afterward. He was covered in bruises, and he had two big black eyes. My dad was _furious_ when he saw Barry, swearing up and down that if he caught the little bastards, he'd put the fear of God in them." Iris leaned over and settled her head on Barry's shoulder, remembering how awful he'd looked, crying, covered in eggs, his skin mottled with bruises. "I tried like hell to get him to come trick-or-treating with me, even promised him half my candy, but he refused. And he has ever since then."

"You know, I still got half your candy _anyway_." Barry said, tilting his head back to look down at her.

"Because you gave me that stupid puppy dog look every time I came home with all that candy, and it made me feel bad not to share."

"Oh, _this_ stupid puppy dog look?" Barry's face crumbled into a pitiful expression of sadness, a soulful wretchedness in his eyes.

Iris glared back at him. "Yeah, _that_ one."

"Don't feel bad," Eddie said, "he uses that look when we get into an argument and he knows he's wrong."

"And when he wants to avoid a checkup after a meta attacks him." Caitlin added.

"And when he wants me to build him brand new tech on the fly to take down said metas." Cisco chipped in.

"I believe you also used it on me, when you were tired from training and wanted to stop." Jay said.

Barry shrugged. "It's like Cisco said... when you got it, _flaunt it_." He bobbed his head smugly at them all, a coy smirk playing on his lips.

Iris smacked him upside the head. "No more flaunting! You use it to avoid things, and you're avoiding this! You fight criminals and metas _every day_. You've saved this city _so_ many times, you've saved _us_ so many times. You're not a defenseless little boy anymore, and yet here you are, still letting those jerks from school spoil any chance of you having fun. Sure, the music's bad and there's no alcohol, not that you can get drunk anyway, but we're all here at a party and we could have been having fun all night, if you'd not been such a party pooper. But instead, you both just sat here feeling _sorry_ for yourself, in some kind of misery feedback loop."

"It wasn't _just_ feeling sorry for myself." Barry said defensively. He began ticking off his points on his fingers. "We were blackmailed, had to put off our plans for sex, come up with costumes at the last minute, and we're here dressed like this because Cisco wanted to tell people that we're Barry and _Other Barry_."

When no one reacted to the joke but Iris, who was the only one besides him who watched the show, Cisco scoffed. "See, if you all just took the time to marathon _Archer_ , you'd understand why that is comedy _gold_."

"Ooh, the three of us _have_ to do that." Iris said, completely off topic. "Curl up on the couch, make a weekend of it. Pizza, ice cream, wine."

Barry and Eddie traded glances with each other. "So you can get wine-drunk, like you did the last time we got together for drinks, and end up crawling into our bed to pass out?" Eddie asked, fighting back a grin.

Iris stared at them, scandalized. "Well, if your couch wasn't so _uncomfortable_ , I would have been able to sleep on it! You know that couch is horrible, but you won't buy a new one, and you won't move to a bigger apartment, so you'd have a guest room, so..." She picked up her mug of cider and took a drink, trying to appear calm and collected. "Really, that was all _your_ fault."

"Oh, so it was _our_ fault  _you_ got smashed and suckered yourself between us like a leech?"

"Pfft! Like I haven't slept with Barry before." The second the sentence left her mouth, she realized exactly how it sounded and quickly began backpedaling. "Sleeping! Actual _sleeping_! Like at sleepovers!" They'd shared a bed so many times as children, it hadn't even occurred to her as she'd stumbled into their bedroom that doing the same as an adult would lead to _infinitely_ more awkward mornings. Iris looked to Caitlin for support. "You know how much worse it is to be wine-drunk instead of _drunk_ drunk."

"Oh, yeah." Caitlin said, nodding her head sagely. She was more than familiar with the evils of wine and the havoc it wreaked on the body. She'd sworn it off multiple times throughout her life, but some days, the only thing that could help her unwind after a day of insanity at S.T.A.R. Labs was going home, cracking open a bottle of red and drinking the whole thing. After Ronnie had died helping Barry close the singularity, she'd consumed her fair share while coping with the loss and making the decision to go work at Mercury Labs.

"Uh-huh... so you're blaming _other_ people for what happened, Dr. West?" Barry asked, studiously tapping his finger to his chin, a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

Iris felt her cheeks heat up. "Hey, I _never_ said I wasn't guilty of pointing fingers at other people. It may be hypocritical, but unlike you three, I just don't let it hold me back. Sometimes, people get the short end of the stick. It's a fact of life. But you shouldn't care what other people think, or say. All you should care about is what your friends and family think of you. Their opinions are the only ones that matter. Caitlin is scared of Halloween, but it was more important to her to be able to show Jay around our Earth and hang out with her friends than to be scared. And if she could face down her fears the way she faces down crazy metas, without batting an eyelash, then _you two_ can learn to manage your damage, like she has."

"So, what? We just _forget_ it ever happened?" Eddie asked. "Forget that Barry was tortured and that my dad was an asshole?"

"No! That's _not_ what I'm saying. I'm saying it's why you are who you are, but you can't let _control_ who you are. You have to start getting over it, and let it go."

"I swear to God, you start singing that song, and I will..." Barry couldn't come up with a good threat right off the top of his head, because he knew they'd have no effect whatsoever on Iris. "I'll do _something_." He finished lamely.

"I'm not gonna _sing_. I just want you to let it go. I want you to turn those frowns upside down, so all of us can pig out on candy, drink our weight in cider, and dance our asses off. _Together_."

"She's right you know." Jay looked from Caitlin to Eddie and finally to Barry, making sure he had their attention. "When you're in a fight, you have to focus on the moment. My history with Zoom is what fueled our battles, but I never let a past slight or defeat own me. They shaped me, certainly, but they never held me back from doing what needed to be done at the time. One hesitation, one misstep, and I might not have been alive to come to your world."

Cisco picked up on his thread. "Apply that same philosophy to life, you learn from the bad experiences, but you don't let harsh your mellow. You didn't let getting your ass handed to you by Mardon stop you from becoming the Flash."

"I didn't get my ass _handed_ to me..." Barry muttered defensively.

" _And_ ," Cisco said right over him, "Eddie didn't let the first criminal to slip through his fingers stop him from being a cop. So why let those jerks stop you from enjoying a good Halloween party with the rest of us?"

Sighing, Barry shifted in his chair to look at Eddie. Every Halloween, he'd let the memory of those kids tormenting him keep him from living his life. Joe and Iris had tried to help him get back in the spirit of things, but it had never worked. Even in college, he'd refrained from joining his friends in the holiday festivities, choosing instead to wallow in the past. Cisco and Iris were right, he couldn't let it hold him back any longer. "We did kinda come here expecting to have an awful time."

"We did. We've been to half a dozen of these events at Jitters, but because it was Halloween, we set ourselves up for failure."

Barry looked around the table. "Would it do us any good to apologize?"

Cisco shrugged. "Dunno. You gonna party like it's 1999?"

Laughing, Barry glanced back at Eddie. "What do you think?"

Eddie thought about it for a moment, and then reached for the bowl sitting in the middle of the table. It was full of a Halloween trail mix of pretzels, peanuts, mini marshmallows, M&Ms and Reese's Pieces. The Jitters staff had them on every table and occasionally went around refilling them, wanting to keep everyone sugared up and happy. Eddie grabbed a handful. "It can't hurt, right?" He asked, and then tipped his head back to pour the whole handful into his mouth.

He lowered his head and peered at his friends with a victorious grin as he munched, for once not caring about calories or carbs. His father cared more about poll results than being a part of the strong, caring family he presented to the world, and that prick wasn't going to dictate his life anymore.

" _Yeah_!" Cisco cheered, clapping his hands together. " _That's_ how Team Flash does it!"

"Cisco!"

"Dude!"

"Sorry, my bad!" He said with a wince. "I got caught up in the moment!"

"And you were worried about _me_ revealing myself." Barry said, raising his hand to sweep his thumb under Eddie's lips and clear away a few stray crumbs. He smiled at Eddie, feeling a sense of elation build inside him. "You ready to... dance over that bridge?"

Eddie leaned in and stole a quick kiss from Barry. "Let's go cut a rug."

" _Woo_!" Iris threw her hands in the air. "Let's go!"

Caitlin pushed the chair away from the table and stood up. "Okay, but if I see _one_ person here as Jason, _don't_ laugh at me if I run away."

Jay moved to stand behind her, placing a hand on her back. "If I see this Jason person, I'll make sure he doesn't hurt you." He promised her, not noticing the knowing looks being tossed their way.

Cisco rolled his eyes, thinking that there was still _so_ much Jay needed to learn about this Earth. He took Iris' hand in his own, and with a wave of his arm, they herded their friends toward the dance floor. "C'mon, ramblers, let's get rambling!"

 

\-- (^:^) --

 

"I think those two let go just a little too much." Iris said, joining Cisco at the counter as he waited in line to buy a few bottles of water.

He whipped his head around in surprise at her unexpected presence beside him. "Jeez, I thought you'd fallen in. I was about to send a search party."

"Ugh, it was awful in there. The line to use the bathroom was a mile long and I forgot how much it sucks getting in and out of these pants."

"Well, allow me to be the first to thank you for sacrificing comfort for beauty. You'd give the real Canary a run for her money."

Iris snorted. "Lucky for her, the idea of climbing into this getup every night just doesn't appeal to me." She liked helping Barry fight crime, but now that she knew the struggle, she really felt for him, having to squeeze into that leather speed suit every time a meta crawled out of the woodwork. To them, it happened in an instant, but to him, it had to get tedious at times. Her gaze slid back to the dance floor. "But seriously, _look_ at those two. It's like they're trying to make up for all the Halloweens they've missed out on."

Cisco followed her gaze and then nodded in agreement. The DJ was playing something with a more sultry beat and Barry and Eddie were grinding against one another like uninhibited teenagers. "At least they're not as bad as Caitlin and Jay." Cisco pointed and when Iris saw them, she covered her mouth with a hand.

"Oh, my God." She said between her fingers. The two of them were dancing to their own beat, something a lot more sedate, but instead of holding each other close, they could have fit a ruler between them. It was if they thought touching each other would somehow cross a forbidden line. "They need to get a clue already."

It was finally Cisco's turn at the register and he handed the cashier his money. "Hey, one thing at a time. We got them all to loosen up, the next step will be playing matchmaker." He handed Iris a water bottle. "But all in a day's work, right, Dr. West?"

Iris tapped her bottle against Cisco's in a toast. "Right you are, Dr. Ramon."

The music suddenly stopped and the DJ's voice came over the speakers. "All right, boys and ghouls, it's almost midnight, which means it's time to award the winners of the costume contest!" A cheer went up through the crowd. "You guys have been voting all night, and we now have five lucky winners!" The DJ opened an envelope and began listing off categories.

Cisco and Iris moved through the press of bodies to join Barry and Eddie on the dance floor, and were joined shortly by Jay and Caitlin. "You guys having fun?" Iris asked them suggestively and Caitlin blushed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are. Jay's a wonderful dancer."

"There's no need to be polite for my sake." Jay said, shaking his head. "Believe it or not, I'm actually not all that light on my feet. Becoming the Flash helped me gain some grace and precision, but... the ability to dance just didn't come with it."

"You didn't step on my toes, so I consider that-" Caitlin gasped and sharply turned her head away. The DJ had announced the winner of Scariest Costume and the woman who'd won had pushed by them to accept their prize. She was incredibly thin and had used it to her advantage, to dress up as a rotting zombie. The prosthetic work was amazing, with ribs showing and her facing appearing to have been mostly ripped away. She was covered in blood and the sight of all the gore had turned Caitlin's stomach.

Jay slung an arm around her, pulling her to him so she could bury her face in his shoulder, stroking her hair gently with his hand, and Cisco grinned at Iris. "We may not have to play matchmaker after all." He said quietly, tipping his head toward them.

Iris sneakily pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of Jay holding Caitlin. "Just in case they might need a little nudge." Iris said, when she saw Barry, Eddie, and Cisco giving her curious looks. When the woman disappeared back into the crowd after accepting her prizes, Caitlin straightened up, but Jay never dropped his arm from her shoulders. "Or not." Iris muttered with a smile.

Caitlin shivered. "Ugh, and you wonder why I never wanted to watch _The Walking Dead_ with you." She said to Cisco.

He gave her a perplexed look. "How did you ever become a doctor, if you're afraid of blood and guts?"

"I'm not afraid of blood, _or_ guts. Saving a person's life is not something to be afraid of. I'm just disgusted by how _gratuitous_ horror movies are. I mean, was it _really_ necessary for her to have bones piercing through the skin?"

"Uh, _yeah_! That's what makes it _awesome_! And it's why she _won_."

Caitlin groaned. Though she knew the psychology behind why people enjoyed being scared, she never _personally_ understood it, not one iota.

"And the winner of our Best Male Overall Costume is... Barry Dylan!"

Cisco's jaw dropped open. "Dude, Eddie! That's _you_! You won!"

"I won?" He asked faintly, and when he didn't move, Cisco and Iris pushed him toward the DJ booth. In a daze, Eddie walked toward the front surrounded by applause, and a few wolf whistles. The DJ handed him a Jitters gift card and a plastic pumpkin pail loaded with candy, which he took in stunned silence. Turning around, he faced the crowd and held up his winnings for them to see. The applause grew louder and he heard his friends chanting his name.

When he made his way back over to them, Barry immediately through his arms around him and Eddie hugged him back excitedly.

"If your dad were here, you could _so_ throw this into his stupid face." Barry whispered into his ear.

"I almost wish he was," Eddie replied, releasing his hold on Barry, "just so I could." His dad had berated him for being too childish, but here he was, surrounded by adults who were relishing the chance to cut loose for an evening, not caring what anyone else thought. They were living the lesson Iris and Cisco had tried instilling in them, and being a part of it was such a freeing sensation, not caring about anything other than what _he_ wanted to do, what made _him_ happy. Smiling, he held out the plastic pail. "Here, you guys, take some. You're the reason I won at all."

Without hesitation, Cisco stuck his hand in the pail and snagged a few pieces of candy. "See what happens when you stop being a Grinch and actually _live_ your life? Good things happen!"

"The Grinch was Christmas, _not_ Halloween." Iris said, taking a few pieces of candy for herself. "But he's right, it's the _ultimate_ validation."

Barry reached into the pail and pulled out a mini Milky Way. "I'm proud of you, babe." He said, unwrapping the candy. "Even if we didn't win Best Couple's Costume." He shot Cisco a mock glare as the winners of that category -a man in Leia's metal bikini and a woman dressed as Han Solo- went up to collect their winnings.

"Hey, to _me_ , it was a _hilarious_ couple's costume. But Archer and Lana are the _real_ couple, and you lost because people just don't understand nuance."

"More like people don't want to see a, what, murdering _cyborg_ hook up with his archenemy." Barry said.

" _I_ want to see that."

Barry fixed Eddie with a smoldering gaze. "Believe me, you _will_." He lifted the Milky Way to Eddie's lips and Eddie eagerly plucked it from his fingers. He then grabbed Barry by the tie and yanked him forward for a possessive kiss. Lapping at the chocolate lingering on Eddie's tongue, Barry hummed and pawed at him hungrily, hands sneaking under his tracksuit jacket to find the skin beneath.

Iris leaned sideways to stage-whisper to Cisco. "I think we've created monsters."

Barry broke away from Eddie, their lips parting with a loud smack and he glared back at Cisco. "Hey, you guys are the ones who wanted us to loosen up and have fun. Be careful what you wish for." He smirked coyly and grabbed Eddie's hand. "We'll be back."

They watched as Barry pulled Eddie towards the men's room, and Caitlin covered her face with her hand. "Oh, God, they _aren't_."

"Oh, they _are_."

"Eddie remembers that he's a cop, right? And that it's _illegal_?"

"I'm pretty sure with his sterling record, they'd look the other way on this one... _if_ they get caught."

"I'm sorry," Jay interjected, "what exactly are they doing that's illegal?" This world was vastly different than his, despite their similar technological advances, and in the time he'd been stuck there before revealing himself, he'd learned how open Earth One was in comparison to Earth Two, especially when it came to sexuality. Barry and Eddie's public displays of affection were quite legal, hence his confusion.

Cisco peered up at him, almost charmed at his innocent naïveté. "Oh, you sweet summer child. They're going to-"

" _Please_ , Cisco," Caitlin said, holding up a hand, "I don't think he needs to know about _that_."

Jay quickly put two and two together, Caitlin's particular emphasis on such an innocuous word, along with the veracity of Barry and Eddie's affections, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. " _Oh_." He glanced toward the bathroom. "Oh, my..."

"And _there_ it is." Cisco said, pointing a finger at Jay's stunned expression. "We've warped his fragile little mind. We created horrible Halloween monsters and they broke Jay." He shook his head in disappointment. "Barry said something about people sneaking in alcohol, right? I think it's time we found ourselves a proper drink."

"Hear, hear."

 

\-- (^:^) --

 

When Eddie and Barry made it back to the table some time later, flushed and sweating, Iris snorted at the two of them. She pushed a mug toward Eddie. "You look like you could use a drink."

"Ah, thanks." He said appreciatively, feeling a bit parched. He took a deep pull of the cider, grimacing a bit when he tasted it. Swallowing it down, he lowered the mug and looked at Iris. "See you found the spiked cider."

"And how." Caitlin said, lifting her own mug. The ratio of alcohol to cider was something to be desired, as it left a horrible aftertaste in the mouth, but it certainly got the job done. Jay, who'd been unable to get drunk after becoming the Flash, was now able to, after losing his connection to the speed force, so they'd been sharing the mug and the hand on her back was now radiating a wonderfully pleasant warmth.

A pout marred Barry's face. Of all the great gifts his powers had bestowed upon him, the fact that he could no longer get drunk was still a bit of a sore spot. He liked being able to go out with his friends, but watching them get drunk without him was always a bit of a bummer.

He leaned his head on Eddie's shoulder, and Eddie chuckled, pressing a kiss to his thick mop of hair. "C'mon, no frowning. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves."

"I know, but..." Barry gave himself a mental shake and sat back up. Sure, he missed getting drunk, or even just buzzed, but like Iris and Cisco had said, there was no point in letting things like that make him miserable, especially something he had no hope of changing. He smiled at all of them. "But until Caitlin perfects her distilled alcohol recipe to be more effective, I guess I'm forever the designated driver. Or runner, rather." He still didn't have his license, but when it came to making sure his friends got home safe, he was happy to play taxi for them.

A cheer went up through the crowd and they all turned to see that some of the costume contests winners were up on the second level, leaning over the balcony to toss candy at the dancers, the way people tossed beads during Mardi Gras. Barry let out a laugh, watching some people turn it into a game, standing under the balcony with their mouths open, to see if the person above them could drop the candy directly into their mouths.

"You know, I think this is the _first_ Halloween party Jitters has thrown that hasn't completely _sucked_." There was a vigor in the crowd that hadn't been there in the years he'd gone before. It was almost palpable, everyone feeding off everyone else's glee, until it had reached a fever pitch. He spun around in his chair, folding his arms on the table and he looked at Iris with a self-deprecating grin. "I guess you were right about having a good time." Barry said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the crowd.

"Well, I think the Flash had a little something to do with that." She replied, mirroring his posture and nudging him playfully with an elbow.

" _Oh_?"

"Definitely. Not only did you rebuild this place, but you saved the city and gave everyone _hope_. You're part of the reason everyone here is having such a great time, because they know they have a guardian angel watching out for them. In some way or another, _you_ are responsible for the smile on every face here tonight. Including all of ours. You, of all people, deserved to share in the happiness."

Overwhelmed by the sincerity in Iris' voice, Barry felt himself get a little choked up. "God, you are _so_ cheesy." He said, nudging her back.

"That's my job." Iris replied, gently patting one of his blushing cheeks. "To shamelessly embarrass you in front of all your friends. But it makes it no less true." She pulled her hand back and pointed at Barry. "This is all because of you. And I'm so glad you came out tonight. And _enjoyed_ yourself, for once."

"Small victories, right?" Cisco said, raising his mug in a toast. They all followed suit, and Barry couldn't help but laugh as they toasted him.

"To small victories." Caitlin said.

"For they reap the richest rewards." Jay added.

Barry watched with a grin as they knocked their drinks back, polishing off the illicit mix of booze and cider in several long gulps. The mugs hit the table with a loud thunk, followed by groans and gasps at the burn of the alcohol. Shaking his head, Eddie grabbed Barry by the collar of his suit and tugged him sideways to give him a kiss.

"Ready to go home?" Eddie murmured, flicking his tongue over Barry's lips.

"That insatiable, are we?"

"What can I say, I feel the spirit rising inside of me."

"Phrasing." Barry said with a chuckle.

" _Dude_!" Cisco crowed ecstatically. "Yes!" He raised his hand to high-five Barry for finally getting into character with something _other_ than his unquenchable libido.

Clapping their hands together, they traded firm grips before releasing each other. "So are you guys gonna be okay to get home?"

"Yeah, we should be good." Iris said. "And we can always let a taxi driver be our hero, if need be."

"And we walked here from the Aquarium. A brisk walk back will clear my head before I drive." Caitlin said. Not that they'd had more than two mugfuls of spiked cider, but she knew that even the slightest buzz could impair one's driving ability. By the time they made it back to her car, her body would have metabolized enough of the alcohol so that it wouldn't be an issue.

"And if not, I'll make sure she arrives home safely by other means." Jay said.

"Uh-huh." Cisco muttered. "Bow chicka _wow-wow_."

A piece of candy hit him squarely on the temple and his mouth dropped open in shock. " _Ow_." He said, turning a mock glare on Caitlin.

"That's _not_ funny." Caitlin chided, her whole face burning red. She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, the sour expression morphing into a smile as she looked at everyone else. "Well, I guess I'll see you all at work tomorrow." Caitlin motioned to Iris, pulling her into a brief hug. "Thank you so much for tonight." Iris' praise earlier, about her being able to face down her fears in effort to be with her friends, had filled her with a sense of pride, and knowing Iris held her in such high regard was heartwarming. "I had a wonderful time."

"As did I." Jay said. "It was... enlightening."

"Good, I'm glad." Iris replied. "If you're still in town next year, we'll have to do it again."

"Certainly."

Caitlin made her rounds, hugging Barry and Eddie in turn, before fixing Cisco with a disappointed stare. He flashed her one of his patented _I'm-innocent-and-adorable_ grins, and she groaned, unable to stay mad at him for long.

Embracing her tightly, Cisco pressed his lips against her ear. "You know we're all happy for you, right?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it." She whispered back. They parted and Caitlin gave Cisco a grin. "But I expect nothing less from you."

He scoffed playfully. "Go on, you crazy kids, get outta here. Conquer some more fears."

Waving goodbye to Iris, Barry, and Eddie, and giving Cisco a perplexed look, Jay offered out his arm to Caitlin, who linked hers around his. They disappeared into the throng of bodies and Cisco sighed.

"Okay, who wants to take bets on them finally closing the deal tonight?"

Iris snorted loudly. "You're the _worst_. Betting on Caitlin finding some peace with someone new..."

Cisco hummed and arched a brow at her. "Don't even act like you don't want a piece, girl..."

" _Fine_! Twenty says she shows up at work tomorrow exhausted and limping." Not only did Jay and Caitlin apparently have great chemistry, but Jay seemed like the kind of man who would thoroughly take care of his sexual partners, and then some. Iris chuckled inwardly, thinking _no, I'm not hard up, not at all_.

"I'll take that bet." Eddie said. "Jay's from a different world, remember? They may be advanced as us technologically, but he said that culturally, his word compares to our 1940s. Add that to the fact that he's never been anything but an absolute gentleman to Caitlin, to Iris, to _any_ woman he's come across, and I _guarantee_ you, he's not gonna do anything untoward to a woman he's only known for what, two months now? Especially one that he's not even officially _dating_. Looking at the evidence, I say nothing's gonna happen. Maybe a goodnight kiss, but that's stretching it."

"So, that's Iris and me for, and Eddie against. What do you think, Barry?"

"I think... I think that it's time for us to be _leaving_." He wanted to believe that Caitlin had found something good with someone new, and Jay was a great guy, so trying to make money on them either hooking up, or crashing and burning seemed a bit too crass.

"Have it your way." Cisco pointed at Eddie. "But just make sure you come in tomorrow with cash on hand."

"You're on." They shook on it, and then Eddie got to his feet, circling around the table to hug Iris. "Thank you." He said, giving her a squeeze. "I didn't know how much I really needed this."

"Anytime." She said, hugging him back and kissing his stubbly cheek. "Though if you really wanted to be the _best_ Barry Dylan, you should have shaved."

"And have Barry yell at me because he's missing out on a good case of road rash? _Never_." Eddie smirked at her, making her roll her eyes. He stepped back and Barry took his place, wrapping his arms tightly around Iris.

"You have no idea how much I love you." Barry told her. "Thank you for giving me a swift kick in the ass. _Black Canary_."

Iris tossed her head back in laughter, and pushed Barry back so she could punch his shoulder softly. "Barry Allen, you have not failed this city."

" _For real_? That's not even her line."

"Way to ruin the moment, jackass." She punched him again and he let out a fake gasp of pain. "Go on, get out of here. Go enjoy the witching hour."

"You, too. And if you don't manage to dance off your buzz, don't hesitate to call us. You know I'll-"

"If you say you'll be here in a flash, I _will_ hurt you for real."

Barry grinned, thinking Iris knew him _too_ well. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said contrarily, giving her a kiss. "Just let us know if you want to crash at our place."

"I promise. Responsibility is my middle name."

" _Sure_ it is..." He said in a sing-song voice, well aware what her _real_ middle name was, and how she absolutely hated it.

Ignoring Iris' indignant look, he turned to Cisco, holding out his hand to bump their fists together. "And thank _you_ , for helping gang up on us."

"You know I'll always have your back, dude. Anytime, anywhere."

"And I'll always have yours." Barry swore, clapping him on the arm. "No matter what."

Glad to know Barry would never not be there for him, Cisco smiled warmly at him, thinking that maybe revealing that he too had the meta gene wouldn't be so bad after all. But that was something for another day. Barry and Eddie turned to leave, but before they were out of earshot, Cisco called out to them.

"You know what this means, right?"

"What?" Barry asked, peering over his shoulder at him.

"Next Halloween is gonna be _epic_."


End file.
